


Something Like Love

by spooped



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gay Keith (Voltron), I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Keith is my closeted gay boy and then he meets lance, M/M, getthatgoodshit, im proud I guess ?, keith is also vv anti social, klance, poorkeith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 03:03:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14323152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spooped/pseuds/spooped
Summary: keith doesn’t know how to love, how to befriend someone, or even how to talk to people. He’s been in an orphanage his whole life and doesn’t know how to talk to people who aren’t like him; because to him there’s no use in talking to someone who doesn’t understand him. Until of course, he meets Lance McClain and suddenly he wants to try a little harder and be just a little friendlier. Maybe too friendly.





	Something Like Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey. So basically the story takes place in the late 90s.. early 2000s when like being gay wasn’t as cool as it is now you know? So that’s why Keith doesn’t come out. ANYWAYS I hope you enjoy this jumble of words

This isn’t a coming out story, well maybe it was, but Keith had other plans for it. He didn’t want to be another story. Another closeted gay kid just trying to figure things out. Because no, that wasn’t him. He wasn’t the seemingly happy gay kid walking the halls, a boyfriend in tow. He had scars, physically and emotionally, and wouldn’t let anyone come close to him. 

Sighing, Keith fell back onto his creaking bed, eyes wide open, though unable to see much in the dark. Wanting to dispose of himself, he wished he hadn’t even started imagining a life where he could come out. Even if the world were accepting of gay people, who would he come out to? He wasn’t good enough with people to have friends and certainly didn’t have a family who he could nervously tell. 

Although he wished things were different, they weren’t. 

“Having trouble sleeping Keithy boy?” Rolo said and jumped off from the top of his bunk to mess with Keith.

Rolo was... an interesting guy. He was really the only person who got Keith through the day and though he would never admit it, even to himself, he admired Rolo. He’d been here the longest out of all the orphans. Keith coming in only six months after him. Everyone else being adopted, Rolo and Keith only had each other. For years they stuck together and Rolo ended up being like an older brother to Keith. 

“Oh yeah I can’t sleep cause I’m basically drowning in my own anxiety about what I’ll do when you leave” Keith playfully threw his hand on his head, acting as if he were about to pass out before fanning himself as Rolo laughed quietly, afraid to wake the other kids up. 

“Oh I’m sure. How could you possibly go on?” Rolo was leaving in a few weeks because he’s turning 18. Once you turn 18 and still haven’t been adopted, you get let lose. The orphanage providing you with nothing except making sure you had a job and money saved up for an apartment, which wasn’t a problem for Rolo as he’d been working since he was 12.

But that didn’t mean Keith would be alright, he was his only friend and still had 2 more years until he turns 18 and would be able to leave. Keith and Rolo already had it planned out. As soon as he could, Keith would be living with Rolo and they’d be happy.. as brothers.... Keith always forgot to remind himself of that. 

Rolo laid down next to Keith “You know I’m gonna miss you right?” Rolo turned his head toward Keith and he could feel the heat radiating off of him, his heart skipping a beat and almost forgot to nod.

Because Keith always had to remind himself that Rolo was only a friend. He was his only friend. And he could ruin that with his stupid feelings.

“I’m gonna miss you too” he muttered and turned his head toward Rolo as well. He could grab his hand, admit his oppressed feelings and kiss him. But guy friends don’t just kiss other guy friends... that’s not how friendship works... right?

“But furrealzies.. what’s gotcha up at 2 am?” Rolo asked as if Keith was gonna tell him the truth. Oh he was just a shy closeted gay boi who didn’t have any friends and was bullied at school every day and the only person who protected him and cared about him was in fact, Rolo, Rolo who only saw him as a friend. Rolo, who definitely wasn’t gay. 

“I just woke up is all” he resigned for saying, but he actually hadn’t slept in days, his nightmares getting the best of him.

“Uh uh I can’t even see your face and I already know you’re lying to me. Is it the thing with space again?” Rolo sympathized with him. Sometimes he woke up in the middle of the night crying and sweating and Rolo would immediately come to comfort him, calming him down until he fell back asleep. Eventually he told him about the nightmares that kept causing this. He had dreams about fighting a war in space and at the end of every dream, before he wakes up he dies, each cause of death worse than the last.

“What happened this time?” Rolo asked when he felt Keith nod against him.

He didn’t actually have a nightmare, because he didn’t actually fall asleep so he just told Rolo the dream he had the night before “I could feel it all. Red was crushing me. And I wouldn’t die. She just kept crushing and crushing me underneath her leg. And... and then finally my teammate struck a sword through my head” he laughed “you were actually in the dream... before my death I mean. You were an alien who tried to steal one of the lions.. you were kinda cool actually”

Roll flipped his hair dramatically “Of course I was” they laughed and let a few beats of silence tick by before Rolo spoke again “So.. Red.. what is ‘she’ exactly?”

“Oh right... she’s my lion. You know the metal thing that looks like a cat that allows me to fight the bad aliens” he chuckled “it’s dumb. I wonder how my brain could make up such crazy stuff” 

“Ah it’s not dumb you just have a wild imagination” he ruffled Keith’s hair, an act that shouldn’t have caused Keith to hold his breath and yet it did. “Buuuttt spring break is over and you gotta go to school tomorrow. Being tired because you refuse to sleep at night is not an excuse” which Rolo only knew about because Keith skipped so many days of school last semester to sleep all day. 

“Okay okay point taken.” Keith rolled his eyes and Rolo snuck away to his own bed to let him sleep.

“Night Keith”

“Night”

Keith didn’t get much sleep that night, plagued with nightmares and terrible memories, but at least he was able to get up in the morning, but not without unnecessary help from Rolo.

“Wakey wakey eggs and bacey” he sang as he jumped down from his bed and then onto Keith, and in return groaned and started slapping at Rolo’s back trying to force him off.

“Oh you love it! Stop denying my methods of friendship” Rolo exclaimed and started to put more pressure from his body on Keith’s chest, just to annoy him.

“I sure am starting to regret it though” Keith wheezed out and in return got a slap on the thigh.

“Oh whatever! Get up you lazy bum” it was their normal routine. Rolo would annoy Keith until he finally got up and got ready for school where they would then walk to school. Even though Rolo had a perfectly functioning car, he felt like walking because it was ‘beneficial’... Keith scoffed every time Rolo would try to convince him of that. 

Keith dragged himself out of bed moaning the whole time and got dressed, thankful for the empty bathroom, which was very hard to come by considering the ten other kids in the orphanage that only contained four bathrooms. 

He scrubbed on his green face mask and pinned his bangs up while putting the rest of his messy hair in a pony tail, then he left the bathroom to go downstairs and savage together some breakfast only to find Rolo humming and dancing to himself while making food that basically consisted of 30 eggs and one giant pan. 

Rolo was the oldest, so that meant he took on responsibilities that the other kids didn’t, not even Keith. And Rolo was glad to do so, he made breakfast, lunch, and dinner, made sure the kids got up and went to bed, as well as get them to school safely. He was the closest thing any of these kids had to a dad. 

And with Keith being the second oldest he liked to taunt Rolo with his love of playing a domestic part.

“Oh sweetie breakfast looks great” Keith sauntered in saying, a few octaves higher than his normal voice.

“Oh I know” Rolo raised a playful eyebrow talking in a deep voice “I was actually thinking about feeding the kids raw eggs from now on, give them some REAL protein” 

Keith slid closer to him and put one hand on his hip and the other on the counter “Now I think thats-“ but he was cut off by a raw egg being cracked open into his mouth. 

“OH YOU DICK!” Keith practically yelled wiping the egg out of his mouth with his sweater.

“Sh!” Rolo said and covered a hand over Keith’s mouth “Can’t teach the kids to have potty mouth can we?”

So Keith did the only thing he could. He bit Rolo’s hand.

“Oh you dick!” Rolo whisper-yelled and Keith howled in laughter, and walked over to the sink to wash the egg out of his mouth.

“Here’s your COOKED eggs, you jerk” Rolo slid him a plate.

“Why thank you my good sir” Keith bowed and took his plate to the table, and at the mention of food, the ten little rug rats came scampering down to retrieve their share.

“Did anyone grab Stormi?” Roll sighed when they all shook their heads.

“It’s okay I got her, just heat up her milk” Keith said and started to leave before turning around “and don’t put it in the microwave, lazy, you have to run her bottle under hot water” he took the stairs by two before quietly entering Stormi’s room to wake her up.

If there was anything Keith could do right it was taking care of kids. Both Rolo and Keith were masters at it, having so many ‘siblings’ over time does that to people.

He carefully wrapped his arm under her back and the other under her head and carried her downstairs.

“Keeffff! Rolo put Stormi’s bottle in the microwave!” The kids told him all at the same time, the words forming into a jumble.

“Did not!” Rolo tried to defend but Keith just raised an eyebrow accusingly. He opened the microwave to find the bottle only to pour out radio wave infested milk and replace it with new liquid which he then warmed with tap water all the while holding Stormi.

“See. Look it’s easy.” Keith grunted while feeding Stormi “I even did it with a baby in my arms” because while Rolo was good with kids just in general, Keith had a special knack for babies. 

The kids chuckled in response to Rolo’s playful deflation and huddled around Keith to help feed the baby.

Okay so maybe he wasn’t that alone. Because in retrospect, he did have a family. Most of said family would all get adopted and leave him, but at least Rolo would still be there... even once he was an adult he’d never forget about him.

So he did have someone to come out to. But it still wasn’t ideal.

Once everyone had finished breakfast and Keith washed his face mask off and finally finished getting ready Rolo clapped his hands together and excitedly threw them in the air “Okay everyone time for school!”

At that point Rolo piled everyone into the Orphanage’s mini van and drove to the primary, elementary, and middle school dropping each kid off and then dropping Stormi off at day care- because unfortunately, a baby couldn’t be trusted alone with the head of the orphanage- before taking the minivan back to the house where Keith and Rolo would walk to school, because the high school was only a 15 minute walk. 

“So have you found an apartment yet?” Keith asked while they were walking and Rolo smiled.

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask! One of my teachers heard about my dilemma and helped me find an apartment! And it’s not that far from the orphanage. I mean I know it won’t be the same as me sleeping right above you every night but you can come over whenever you want and we’ll still be going to the same school, until graduation that is” Rolo exclaimed excitedly as Keith’s smile widened. 

He loved how excited Rolo was about leaving the stupid orphanage and moving on with his life, as well as graduating, and it made Keith happy.

But before he could respond he heard a distant “HEY!” Coming from behind them.

When they both heard it the second time, stopping, they spotted a boy running at them.

“Oh jeez” he said and putting his hands on his knees panting “I’ve been.. walking around for like...forever. Mom said it was a right on Elmor then a left on Wima...” he blabbered on with directions and street names “but I couldn’t find the school anywhere!” 

The boy was just about as dramatic as Rolo.

“But then I saw you guys and figured we were headed towards the same place” he finally looked up to see the confused expressions on the other two boys faces.

“Oh right! I’m Lance” he extended his hand “I just moved here over spring vacation and obviously had no idea where to go for my first day” 

Rolo, being his social self met Lances hand first with his own.

“Charmed. I’m Rolo” 

“Keith” he said extending his own hand, taking a second to react because honestly he was caught off guard by the other boys beauty.

“So! I’m glad we’ve been introduced I have officially made some friends.” Keith was also caught off guard by the word “friend” only Rolo had ever called him that “Hopefully we have some classes together and I won’t have to go through this day alone” 

Rolo was the one who continued the conversation, as Keith was still focused on being called a friend, which Rolo took notice of, as he definitely knew through years of knowing Keith that he sucked at making friends. 

“Yeah sounds sweet man!” They continued walking, this time with Lance in tow “Let me see your schedule” Lance then pulled out a crinkled up sheet of paper and handed it to Rolo for him to examine.

“Sweet dude. Looks like you have AP art history with Keith as well as AP Psych, anatomy, and trigonometry. That’s a lot of AP classes on your schedule man. Seems like a lot to keep up with. I only ever took AP history but I drowned in it. Keith’s the smart one around here”

He blushed at being singled out but managed to move as he took the schedule from Rolo and tried to find something to say about it, desperate to find a connection with Lance.

“Awe dude you have Mrs. Wilson for AP US history. That sucks. I had her last year and she’s the actual devil. But at least we only have three months of school left.” Keith managed a smile and handed the schedule back to Lance, in which he groaned.

“I was really hoping I wouldn’t get any devil teachers.”

“You said you moved over spring break? Why’d you transfer so late in the year anyways?” Rolo asked and they could see the school in sight.

“Oh I came from Cuba, and with all the crap going on there my mom decided to move us to the states. I was actually born here but things happened and we moved back to Cuba” Rolo and Keith simultaneously hummed and nodded which caused a curious look from Lance.

“Are you two like brothers or something? You definitely look alike” This caused Rolo and Keith to look at each other and start laughing. When they finally stopped Keith shook his head in which Rolo added “Well... sort of but not really. I mean we are, right Keith? Tell me we’re brothers. Don’t break my heart here man”

Keith gave him a sympathetic look, shaking his head and Rolo dramatically acted like he was fainting.

“Damn I see how it is. I revoke my invite to my apartment when I move then” They had forgotten that Lance was there until they noticed a very confused boy standing next to them.

“Never mind him” Keith waved Rolo off “Let me walk you to class. We have Home Room together.” Lance got excited at the fact that they would continue talking and Keith could extend the bond they were making. At least to him it was a bond, he had never really known anything else.

At which Keith said his “goodbyes” and “good lucks” to Rolo and left him behind to go to class with Lance.

Friendship definitely wasn’t something he was concerned with. But there were a lot of gay people in Cuba... right? Maybe Lance was one of them.

**Author's Note:**

> SO I know it’s a short chapter.. I usually write short chapters so that I can end on a cliff hanger or I just get bored of that chapter and want to start something knowww in the next one. Idk but to make up for short chapters I usually write pretty frequently (I have a lot of time on my hands) I hope y’all enjoy ❤️


End file.
